The effect of flow pattern on kinetic characteristic of the biomass fixed inside porous medium.

ABSTRACT

The characteristics of the biomass fixed inside porous medium (sponge cube) have been investigated to see whether it can be recognized as biofilm. The acrylic cube is used as control medium. Three types of flow pattern of bulk water are used in the test to examine is effect on substrate transportation. From the kinetic test, it is found that the biomass fixed inside the sponge cube has biofilm characteristics. For conditions where the diffusion phenomenon is dominant, two layers whose yield constant are different to each other are confirmed from stoichiometric study. When the sponge cube is in the counter flow, it was found that the whole biomass fixed inside the medium works at the same time. It is considered that a certain amount of water is flowing through the medium when the sponge cube is exposed to counter flow. When the water is totally flowing through the sponge cube during the kinetic test by using type-3 reactor, a Michaelis-Menten type equation can represent the results of the kinetic test.